Principal of Dowen College, Lagos Adebisi Layiwola on Tuesday broke down in tears before an Ikeja Coroner’s Court while giving her testimony into the death of a student Sylvester Oromoni Jnr.
Mrs Layiwola said the news of Oromoni’s death came just when the allegation of bullying was being investigated.
“When the uncle of the deceased came to the school, we were still in the process of the investigation.
“He received a call from the sister of the deceased in my presence, that the deceased’s case had taken a bad turn.
“It was not long, he received another call that the boy had passed on,” she said.
At this point in her testimony, the Dowen College principal broke down in tears and the coroner Mikhail Kadiri ordered a 10-minute break.
Earlier, Layiwola, who has been the principal of the school for four years, told the court during cross-examination by counsel to the Oromoni family, Femi Falana (SAN), that there was no cult in the school.
She said, “On the cult allegation, there is no cult in the school. In October, I was informed that the deceased was told to describe the nudity of his sister by some students.
“We called the students who were involved but we did not really talk to them about being in a cult. We spoke to them on the issue of bullying.
“On the issue of private part description, we set up a panel to investigate and make a recommendation.
“Due to the sensitive nature of the case, the boy in question was given an internal suspension, internal work for two weeks. He was made to apologise to the sister and the deceased. He also went for counselling.”
Falana asked if the witness asked the students whether they gave the deceased a substance to drink.
She said: “I did not ask them.”
“Would you be surprised that a black substance was found in the deceased body?” Falana asked.
The witness responded: “I would not be surprised because I am not a pathologist.”
The coroner adjourned proceedings until March 7 for continuation of hearing.
